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THIS WEEK IN SPORTS BETTING

Kevin Rogers
Kevin Rogers Sports Betting Expert
6 minute read
Best US Sportsbooks · Weekly Update

August 23rd, 2021 Weekly Report

This week in legal sports betting, we saw New Jersey sports betting news once again. We also saw some movement with Louisiana sports betting as well. And, North Carolina sports betting news took some of the spotlight in addition. Keep reading to learn about the biggest happenings in legal sports betting news from this past week.

Find out more about the heavy hitters in US sports betting not covered in this article with our exclusive coverage of BetMGM, Caesars and DraftKings.

CONTENTS

BARSTOOL SPORTSBOOK MAKES NEW JERSEY SPORTS BETTING NEWS

New Jersey has just seen the launch of Barstool Sportsbook. This marks the seventh state in which Barstool Sportsbook has launched, and the New Jersey market is its largest yet. However, the Barstool Sportsbook is actually the nineteenth online sportsbook that has launched in New Jersey, which has a large sports betting market. This is also the third launch for Barstool Sportsbook from this past month, after Colorado and Virginia.

Barstool Sportsbook comes from Penn National Gaming. It was launched using the license from Freehold Raceway. The Freehold Raceway is owned by Greenwood Racing and by Penn National Gaming. New Jersey has been one of the states to take most advantage of the change to US legal sports betting laws back in 2018. New Jersey sports betting is a huge market as a result.

However, as of right now, the online sportsbook has only seen a soft launch. So, that means it is only available to the first five hundred people who sign up. As of right now, the sportsbook can be accessed as a desktop site as well as an app. But, the launch has been confirmed by Penn National Gaming.

Barstool Sportsbook has launched in New Jersey with enough time to be able to be used for the beginning of the NFL season. But, Barstool Sportsbook is eying even further expansions. There are five states that Penn National Gaming has pointed to wanting to launch in prior to the state of the NFL season on September 9th. Colorado, Virginia, and New Jersey have already launched now. The final two are Arizona and Tennessee.

ARIZONA LAUNCH, OTHER STATES SLOW DOWN

Arizona sports betting is expected to launch on September 9th on the dot. All of the big sportsbooks are eyeing AZ; for example, Penn National Gaming has partnered with the Phoenix Raceway to launch Barstool Sportsbook in the state. FanDuel, already live in ten states, closed an exclusive deal with the Phoenix Suns to receive their event wagering license. This will enable the New York-based operator to offer online betting along with a retail location at the Footprint Center.

However, Tennessee sports betting with Barstool Sportsbook has a less clear future. On Wednesday, the Tennessee Education Lottery had a meeting. But, they did not approve any new sportsbook operators at that meeting. This was despite the fact that there were three potential Tennessee sportsbooks that had their application review finished at the start of the month. And, the Tennessee Education Lottery will not be meeting again until November 16th, unless a special meeting is scheduled.

Penn National Gaming is also looking for a New York sports betting launch too. This is especially true now that the company has launched in neighboring New Jersey. Penn National Gaming has partnered with Fanatics, a fan gear company, as one of the six bids that seek to launch as a New York online sportsbook. The platform provider would be Kambi.

LOUISIANA SPORTS BETTING COULD BE COMING SOON

There is potential for Louisiana sports betting to go live for the NFL football season. A few days ago, emergency Louisiana sports betting rules were adopted by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. The emergency rules will take effect at the beginning of this week and are set to expire in one hundred and eighty days.

During this time, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board will be able to work on permanent rules for Louisiana sports betting. And, the LGCB will also be able to start the Louisiana sports betting licensing process for the 20 land-based casino and riverboat casinos that are in Louisiana. And, they also have the option to extend the emergency rules for an additional one hundred and eighty days.

Right now, there is no clear date for the launch of Louisiana sports betting. However, the hope is for it to launch in time for NFL football betting. The Louisiana sports betting legislation allows all twenty riverboat casinos and land-based casinos in LA to apply for a sports betting license in the state. And, each license granted is able to operate up to two skins for Louisiana mobile sports betting.

The Louisiana sports betting emergency rules should allow for sports betting operators in the state to take advantage of betting for the NFL football season. The Louisiana Lottery will also receive a sports betting license, which will give it the ability to operate kiosks at bars and restaurants as well as a mobile application.

We will most likely see a Caesars Sportsbook in Louisiana, considering it already has its own Harrah’s Casino in operation in New Orleans. And, Caesars also took over the naming rights to the home of the New Orleans Saints, the Superdome, recently. Plus, Caesars has been in the middle of a new campaign of nationwide branding.

Both DraftKings as well as BetMGM are eying the Louisiana sports betting market as well. So, once sports betting officially launches in the state, we will most likely see their presence. There are a few other sportsbook operators who have their hands in Louisiana casinos already. These are: Barstool Sportsbooks, Bally Bet, Golden Nugget, FanDuel, as well as TwinSpires.

The majority of Louisiana bettors voted to approve Louisiana sports betting back at the ballot box in November 2020. Then, three bills were passed quite rapidly to regulate as well as tax Louisiana sports betting to build the foundations for sports betting in the state. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed these bills into law back in June. In addition, DraftKings was able to receive Louisiana's first daily fantasy sports license last month in July.

WHERE DOES NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS BETTING STAND?

A few days ago, a bill that would expand North Carolina sports betting moved past the state Senate. The bill, SB 688, passed the state Senate by a vote of 26-19. The bill seeks to legalize North Carolina sports betting. It now moves to the state House.

The bill was introduced by state Senators Jim Perry and Paul Lowe back in April. This is because they hope to receive tax revenue from sports betting, especially considering many North Carolinians are already participating in the activity.

SB 688 spent a few months in a waiting period before it was quickly pushed through a few different committees this past month. The state Senate was dealing with other issues during this time. However, if the narrow victory in the state Senate is any indicator, the bill is not a shoe in in the state House. In fact, the House may be even more opposed to legalizing gambling than the Senate was. But, the bill is set to last through next year.

Many North Carolina residents actually support the legalization of sports betting in their state. And, the bill also has the support of North Carolina Governor Roy Moore.

SB 688 authorizes North Carolina sports betting licenses for 10 to 12 mobile sports betting operators. Each would have a $500,000 initial five-year license fee attached. And, the date they would come into effect would be January 1st, 2022. There would also be an 8% tax on sports betting revenue in the state.

In addition, the bill would allow for professional sports facilities to set up areas for sports betting on both kiosks as well as mobile devices. And, this also includes golf courses that have a track record of professional tournaments. In addition, the homes for the Charlotte Hornets, Carolina Panthers, and the Carolina Hurricanes would be able to take advantage.

There are already two tribal-owned Harrah’s branded casinos in operation in North Carolina. So, North Carolina betting is already happening at these locations. The Cherokee tribe partnered with William Hill to open their retail sportsbooks at the casinos, seeing their launch in March of this year, 2021. However, as part of a new branding campaign this past month, Caesars has rebranded those sportsbooks.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert.

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Kevin Rogers

Kevin Rogers

Kevin has been handicapping professionally since 2007 at VegasInsider before shifting to ScoresAndOdds. He focuses on MLB, NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, and NHL and mainly uses trends, systems, and situations as his top handicapping angles. More from Kevin Rogers
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